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January 03, 2010

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With all the stories of continued Iranian unrest, human rights abuses and the complications for Western nuclear diplomacy, beware what seems a notable uptick, too, in very fishy stories of the Chalabi/U.S.-soldiers-will-be-greeted-with-flowers type emerging as well.

For instance, take this piece today in the Bangkok Post by one Maximilian Wechsler, claiming to be an exclusive interview with a former Iran intelligence chief, Mohammad Reza Madhi, who the article says was supposedly Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's right-hand man.

Problem is, there is nothing except this article, being circulated by Iranian monarchist exiles (Reza Pahlavi, the son of the shah, was scheduled to travel to Thailand as of last week, an Iranian pro democracy activist said, but Pahlavi's secretariat has denied that) to show that Madhi is what he says he is. The article describes Madhi as "Iran's intelligence chief," while there are no other references that could be found to Madhi having any such position besides those generated by the article itself.

And a bit of digging shows that the writer of Sunday's Bangkok Post "exclusive," Wechsler, is himself a former documented Czech-Australian double agent and informant who, after he broke ranks with the Australian intelligence services, landed in Thailand and reportedly worked as an agent provocateur, among other gigs:

According to an intelligence officer, who knew Wechsler at that time and saw him at the Australian Embassy, he was also an agent provocateur. He established a connection with the Ananda Marga sect and was responsible for the arrest in Bangkok in 1978 of Ananda Marga members who were sold explosives by Wechsler. The three Ananda Marga — two Australians and one American — were charged with conspiring to blow up the Indian Embassy.

Wechsler, described as a freelancer by the Bangkok Post, has done several articles but has a history of working for various undercover, nonjournalistic efforts. See this fascinating history of Wechsler by Victoria University professor Phillip Deery, based on records released by Australia's security services and other interviews.

Is the Madhi/Wechsler story for real? An exaggeration? Time will tell. (Madhi describes his alleged position with Khamenei: "I have been working with him for almost 19 years. I saw him frequently, sometimes 10 times or more in one day. We were very close. I was a protector of the leadership apparatus. I was head of a committee for strengthening the Islamic state and preventing anything from weakening it. I helped him too much.")

(Interestingly, Madhi also says he doesn't support sanctions on Iran but does support more help to opposition groups. He does say he was in a hospital in Germany last winter.)

Queries to the Bangkok Post about how it fact-checked the story were not immediately returned.

A dose of skepticism may be in order. It's worth remembering that Iraqi exile Ahmad Chalabi conned an awful lot of the Western press and public to believe some phony Iraqi National Congress "defector" Adnan Ihsan al-Haideri, whom he made available "exclusively" to gullible journalists in Bangkok before the Iraq invasion, with bogus tales designed to appeal to the Western policy narrative. And it's worth remembering such moments are fraught with the risk of exploitation by opportunists of various stripes who have an agenda they would seek to impose, including on those inside of Iran actually risking their lives, without outside support, interference or taint.

UPDATE: In a letter to the Bangkok Post, Madhi writes that he is known by another name, and indicates he wasn't an Iranian spy chief or IRGC intelligence chief but had other governmental positions:

I was head of the committee, under the Assembly of Experts for Leadership (upper parliament), that is responsible for protecting and strengthening of the state and preventing the weakening of the state. I have a strong history and background in investigation, having presided over 38 national judicial cases, including investigation of violations by heads of the Judiciary and other institutions. I was the investigator in charge of serial political assassinations as well. In order to prevent any damage to my country and government I will refrain from revealing any details now.

My name as given in the interview is Mohammad Reza Madhi, but it is worth mentioning that I am known as Seyed Reza Hosseini, and the government and even the embassy are well familiar with me, but because of their official functions have to deny the truth. It is interesting that I am still familiar enough in important Iranian military, security, financial and banking circles.

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Reader Comments (11)

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@Rozen : what is exactly wrong with this statement ? - " We do not have a problem with Israel. The problem of Israel could be solved by Palestinians and Israel in cooperation and with help from states in the region and the world community. .... As for Israel, it is the Iranian government which doesn't recognise its right to exist ... We should recognise it ," -- and why would YOU be susspesious that this indeed is what the oposition desires - and what does Prince Reza pahlavi has to do with this ?
By the way -- do you know the price of bread today ?

it is very intelligent to be cautious about the news we read or watch, and I agree with you on that. however, as I cautiously read this article I could not help but to ask you 1) how Reza Pahlavi's Bangkok voyage is related to this man? do you have any evidence of connection between the two? if so, what is Reza Pahlavi's position in Iran's political spectrum? aren't there more important Iranian opposition figures out there that would eventually want to meet this guy? 2) Ahmad Chalabi was a well-know political activist since long before the invasion of Iraq - how can u compare this guy with chalabi? and if u are referring to propaganda, I don't think anyone reads thai newspapers! we better wait till he appears on Fox or CNN to judge the issue.

Fact 1. Reza Pahlavi has not been in Bangkok for 34 years since he went there on a state visit....Fact 2. why is Reza Pahlavi calling on the nations of the world to react to the brutal mullah's regime a bad thing? Fact 3. Reza Pahlavi is on record as saying anyone who attacks Iran can count on him as an enemy...so much for your implied suggestion that he would want such an attack. Ms. Rozen did you talk to Reza Pahlavi before writing this gossip piece? Did you check any "facts"? Lives are at stake....you could be a force for good...if you wanted. Reza Pahlavi is not your enemy & he is certainly not the enemy of the Iranian people. We expect more from Politico.

Obama should have kept his mouth shut about the protests in Iran. He's made it look to them that he wants regime change over there so now they have a good reason not to trust him one iota. And the only reason for him to communicate he wants regime change in Iran is to appease the media neocons/Likudniks. Obama is a total weasel.
These protests in Iran look like street riots of the '92 Rodney King variety in Los Angeles. If it happened here, people would not put up with it going on for months. They'd want the tanks rolling over the protestors. My Turkish mother in law was caught in a street riot between police and Kurdish separatists in Istanbul about 30 years ago. She was walking home with her groceries and she was shoved under a car and her leg was smashed. The broader public in Iran or any where wants the government to crush street riots and thats just the way it is.

Thank you for shedding light on the Banghkok Post story. It did sound shady. I must admit I too circulated it because it was a story that stuck out. Does that make me a monarchist?
On another note, your intro re Chalabi doesn't gel with the rest of a piece. No Iranian opposition group or personality has supported an attack against Iran.
Finally, I'm a big fan and benefit so much from your pieces.
I think your piece also